Art History and Visual Culture Exam Notes

Examination Overview

  • Exam Structure: Similar to previous exams, including slide identifications, slide comparisons, key terms definitions, and short essays.

Slide Identifications

  • Identifying Artworks:
    • Required to provide the following for each image:
    • Name of the artwork
    • Location
    • Approximate date
    • Materials used (if provided)
    • Description and significance of the artwork
    • Points to Address:
    • How the artwork reflects the values and practices of its period.
    • Innovations or historical significance of the work.
    • Style and function, particularly for architectural pieces, including construction practices.

Slide Comparisons

  • Objective: Compare two objects or structures of the same medium (e.g., architecture, painting).
  • Considerations for Comparison:
    • Style differences and similarities.
    • Content of each work.
    • Function and historical context, such as political or religious influences.
Example Pairings for Comparison:
  • Antoine Watteau, "Pilgrimage to Cythera" (1717)
  • Élisabeth Vigée-Lebrun, "Marie Antoinette and her Children" (1787)
  • Jacques-Louis David, "Oath of the Horatii" (1784)
  • Eugène Delacroix, "Liberty Leading the People" (1830)
  • Joseph Mallord William Turner, "Snow Storm - Steam Boat off the Harbour's Mouth" (1842)
  • Claude Monet, "Saint-Lazare Train Station" (1887)
  • Pablo Picasso, "Les Demoiselles d’Avignon" (1907)

Key Terms Definitions (Choose 4 out of 5)

  • Need to provide a comprehensive definition and an example of an artwork relevant to each key term.
  • Potential Key Terms:
    • Rococo
    • Neoclassicism
    • Romanticism
    • Sublime
    • Impressionism
    • Art Nouveau
Example of Definition: Rococo
  • Definition: A style that emerged in the early 18th century characterized by ornate detail, elegance, and exuberance.
    • Example Artwork: "The Progress of Love" by Jean-Antoine Watteau.

Study Topics and Terms

  • Additional key terms to be familiar with:
    • Realism
    • Expressionism
    • Cubism
    • Minimalism
  • Include names and definitions as needed.

Short Essay Questions (Select 1)

  • Focus Areas for Essays:
    1. Compare architectural practices and community structures in Sub-Saharan Africa vs Indigenous Americas, focusing on techniques, materials, and social organization.
    2. Explore how societies honor the dead through three selected artworks or structures, contrasting form, content, or function.
    3. Analyze the use of materials in one artistic medium (painting, sculpture, or architecture) across three examples, discussing style, content, and function.
    4. Discuss depictions of the human body in three cultures and their cultural values, using specific artworks as references.
Important Aspects to Include in Essays:
  • At least three referenced works of art or architecture.
  • Clearly identified by name, location, approximate date, and subject matter.
  • Comparative analysis as specified by the essay prompt.